Today, we're replaying my conversation with Danny Meyer. He is the founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which comprises some of the most acclaimed restaurants in New York, like Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café. Danny is also the founder and chairman of Shake Shack, which began in NYC but is now a publicly traded company with hundreds of locations worldwide.

Our conversation focuses on how great hospitality leads to a great business, regardless of what sector it's in. We discuss why hospitality is the starting point for Danny’s business philosophy, why first impressions matter, Danny’s concept of ABCD - always be connecting dots, how to scale hospitality, and how to build a business with essentialism and soul. Please enjoy this conversation with Danny Meyer.

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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes:

(00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best

(03:41) First question – Danny’s experience as a tour guide in Italy

(08:17) Why hospitality is the center of business focus

(08:19) Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

(11:50) Early lessons at creating an environment of hospitality 

(15:17) His strategy ABCD and learning from a trout fisherman relate and relate to hospitality

(20:45) Scaling hospitality 

(24:56) What kind of people make a hospitality business work

(29:34) How to be an effective leader

(33:00) Handling mistakes well in the role of hospitality 

(36:28) Creating the spark in the early part of entrepreneurial ventures

(40:32) When its time to start something new vs expand something you are already doing

(45:52) The excellence reflex and an example of this in his career

(50:25) Kindest thing anyone has done for him